Hi all.

I have lost 26 pounds now and I am trying to figure out what to do with my clothes that are too big.
Last time I lost weight I kept them for 1 year and that donated them.
Soon after I gained all the weight back and than some.

I just don't know what I am going to do this time. I was looking for ideas. I don't have a lot of space for storage.

I just hate to get rid of everything and than need to rebuy.
Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

You could donate the ones you dont want, and get a storage tote to keep some of the nicer outfits just in case?

I personally will be getting rid of all my fat clothes, this time as I did last time. I donated them all. I figure it would be awhile, if ever, that I would need them again, and by then they would be out of style. But also, you tend to gain or regain slowly so you wouldnt be going from your new size 10 right into a size 18 (just random sizes for example) SO you would have PLENTY of "transition" clothes.

I got rid of most of my big clothes. I sold them at our garage sale..I still have them left, so I'll probably donate them. For me, getting rid of my fat clothes is a big motivator.

I dropped mine at Goodwill the moment they no longer fit. I had no intentions of ever going back to needing them again. And by getting rid of them, it was added assurance, because I couldn't afford to rebuy everything.

I gave all mine away and then gained 40 of the 87 back.... I have started again and so far lost 10 since July 8th! I know that Dr Phil thinks we should get rid of them because I guess of the psychological aspect of they are there and we can just climb back into them when or if the weight creeps back on. I figure to each his own...whatever works for you ...go for it!!

DE: See, the problem is that you've inspired Murphy's Law. Had you kept the 'big' clothes, you wouldn't have needed them. That being said, when I started dieting, I sold all of my 'thin' clothes on Ebay (to a women in Austrailia for $80!!), hoping that I would one day need them, but since I'd sold them, I wouldn't have them. Sure enough...I sold all of my size 10's and 12's and now I'm in a 12!! But I'm happily buying new things here and there...and my old 16's and 18's are sitting collecting dust and cat hair. Where they will remain forever because if I sell them, I'll likely need them. If I keep them, then I'll never need them again. See, you CAN work Murphy's Law to our advantage...

Usually by a year or so after I bought an item of clothing, whether it fits or not, I won't be wearing it anymore (either it went out of style or I wore it too much and it fell apart since I buy pretty cheap clothes). A few months ago I donated a huge pile of "fat" clothes to charity, along with a whole bunch of clothes that I had had since high school but just kept them sitting in my drawer (they were mostly too small, and even when I get to goal, my body will be too different from what it was when I was 14 for that stuff to fit again!). Meanwhile, I put clothes I liked but were too big into the bottom drawer of my dresser, and decided that if I hadn't worn them at all in a year, I would donate those too.

Right now I'm getting to the stage in weight loss where I'm having a hard time giving up clothes. The real "fat" clothes were easy, because I didn't like them and they didn't look good on me, even when I was fat. But now I am having a hard time with clothes that I bought after the last time I lost weight -- they looked great then, but are too big now. I have a hard time convincing myself that they're too big to wear anymore. The pants I'm wearing right now, for example, I have been pulling up about once every five minutes since they keep slipping down, but in my mind these are my "thin" pants. I think they will be retired once they are seriously falling off (like if the waist is an inch too big).

Last time I lost weight I kept my fat clothes, and I ended up needing them again. This time I am getting rid of them and hoping that that will help me psychologically so that I will not need them again.

The only thing I regretted throwing out were my old large granny panties. I could've used them now as I had to go buy some just to fit around my tummy. They're cheaper than maternity panties and actually hold up better.

But for the clothing, I really have no intentions of going back. If I start to feel something getting tight, that is after I lose the pregnancy weight LOL, I'll be hitting the exercise harder and reducing calories again. I have this fear that if I allow myself to even increase ONE size, that it will get easier to allow myself to increase another and another, and 5 years down the line, I'll be wondering how I got into size 22 again. Because all those sizes crept up one at a time before and I just let myself go.

It's kinda like when I quit smoking. Many times I've wanted to take just one puff from someone's cigarette, but deep down I know that the first step leads to all the other steps afterward. So I avoid the first puff, and the first size increase, like the plague.

I have too many times lost a few pounds and had to start pinning in my pants.. instead of getting rid of them I got back into them! Never again.. they are going as soon as I can get down another size.. I've bought a few transitional pieces to get me through.. I started in a 22 pants and I'm wearing an 18 now.. I bought a few pairs of pants at Suzy's deals ($5 store.) and a few at the flea market.. When I reach a 16 those will go and I'll get a few more transitionals..

I'm another proponent of getting rid of them. Of course, we always hang on to our "skinny" clothes because we are planning on wearing those again some day, but I never plan on getting back to my fat clothes. I gave all of mine to a friend of my sister who is not as far along as I am in the weight loss battle. BUT I did keep my largest pair of pants and my biggest shirt, because when I finally get to goal I am going to tack those to the wall as a constant reminder of how far I've come and how much I don't want to go back.

I had given everything from my largest size away except a sweater that had gotten lost in the back of the closet. I was ready to dump that in the last bag of Goodwill stuff but hubby suggested I keep it as a reminder. So I didn't think to keep the pants, but do have that one size 24 tent...I mean sweater.

I'm keeping one pair of jeans, to measure how far I've come. They're not really wearable, as they have a hole in the knee, so they're not something I would rely on again. Everything else is headed to the goodwill. I don't intend to ever need it again, and not having it around will keep me going just a little because we're on a tight budget and I can't just go out and buy a new "fat wardrobe" if I gain the weight back. A little extra incentive .

I take them down to our local senior center thrift shop as soon as they are too big to wear and they can benefit from the money when they sell them. I think it's good for you mentally to get rid of the old and reward yourself with a few new transitional clothes. Cindi

Thank you all for your responses.
I think I am going to get rid of most of them other than a few of the more expensive things like dress pants and such. My mom also thinks she can take in a few different things.
I will also give a bunch of things to my mom's friend who is trying to lose weight and doesn't have the money to buy a lot.
Thanks again for all the responses.

I wish I had done this. I sold good stuff on ebay, donated a lot and tossed the really bad stuff.